Don't expect anything useful in regards to learning icon design. This is pretty much a ten year old history lesson on the beginnings of icons.
Deceiving Title:
Chapter Listing: Iconic History, Contemporary Icons, Pick and Choose, Internet Icons, Case Studies, DESIGNING ICONS, and Reference.
Icon History actually is, let's look at WINDOW'S icon's since 3.1. If you have used a computer for a small bit of time, this chapter is unneccesary for you to read.
Contemporary Icons: Today's Window's icons and some of Macs. We're talking folders and recycling bins. If you are interested in program icons, you will be sadly disappointed.
nice job, authors publicist...amazing how canned your response was.
A symbolic future:
Icon design is important and very crucial in designing the universal world. Being able to communicate an idea and concept thru symbolism simplifies and optimizes life for the graphical reader. The key concept to the computer's GUI (Graphical User Interface) is the icon and what it represents. Our world is filled with icons and symbols and this book explores this world and logically presents you with the neccessary ideas and tools to help build, develop and design strong icons.